Have MB (SATA II) - which SSD?

[Fun Guy]

For my new build I've already got my MB, CPU, file storage HDDs (2 x Samsung SpinPoint 1TB HDDs mirrored), etc., now I'm just looking for a boot/OS/application SSD.

The one I had (60GB OCZ Solid 2) is already outdated still in the shrink wrap. So I'm in the market for a new boot/OS/app SSD.

The MB I have has SATA II (3Gb/sec) only, and now the newer SSDs are SATA III (6Gb/sec). My questions:

1) Should I get a SATA III SSD, or will that be wasting my money? Is there really all that much difference between SATA II and III?

2) If I get an SATA III SSD, should I get a PCI-e controller card like this one to take full advantage of SATA II speed?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816115072

3) Any other ideas?

 

[996GT2]

You aren't going to notice the difference between a good SATA II SSD or a good SATA III SSD unless you're hitting it with extremely heavy server-like workloads. Besides, it's not like today's fastest SATA III SSDs can really hit 6 Gb/s in 4k random read/writes unless they're in RAID 0.

For normal computing, a good SATA II SSD will be more than enough. IMO the negligible gains of going to a SATA III SSD are not worth the extra cost (for the SSD and the PCIe controller card) unless your usage patterns absolutely require the extra speed.

Heck, my motherboard does have SATA III ports and I'm still more than happy with my X-25M. Boot times are ridiculously fast and everything is extremely responsive.

 

[SickBeast]

I say get what whatever the best deal is. If it's a SATA3 drive that's capable of more, that's just gravy IMO. You'll be able to get that performance later on when you upgrade your motherboard. All other things being equal, it will perform the same as a SATA2 drive would have; you're just getting the added benefit of more performance down the line.

Keep your eye on the hot deals forum and jump on something good that comes up. I got my Vertex 2 that way a couple of weeks ago and I haven't looked back.

 

[Drsignguy]

Based on the info that 996GT2 has mentioned, I have to agree. Unless you are an avid bench tester and rely on the numbers, then go get yourself A sata III SSD. They do make a difference in performance over any spindle drive. If you do web browsing, simple e-mail and normal usage, judging speeds between SSD to SSD is so relevant. I have 4 different types of SSD's, they are C300 (SATAIII) vertex2, Agility 2 and a Micro center 64Gb (sandforce controller) (all SATAII) and they all perform well. As a noticeable difference, not much. I think the Chipset (ICH6, ICH7, ICH9 etc..) on the MB,s makes more of a difference with the speed and performance with any SSD. The Micro center SSD is in my Laptop and it made a huge difference over HDD but is speedy as the other SSD's as it is Hindered by a P4 based system. What I do know is, they are all snappy and I am happy that they all perform as I need them to.

 

[996GT2]

Based on the info that 996GT2 has mentioned, I have to agree. Unless you are an avid bench tester and rely on the numbers, then go get yourself A sata III SSD. They do make a difference in performance over any spindle drive. If you do web browsing, simple e-mail and normal usage, judging speeds between SSD to SSD is so relevant. I have 4 different types of SSD's, they are C300 (SATAIII) vertex2, Agility 2 and a Micro center 64Gb (sandforce controller) (all SATAII) and they all perform well. As a noticeable difference, not much. I think the Chipset (ICH6, ICH7, ICH9 etc..) on the MB,s makes more of a difference with the speed and performance with any SSD. The Micro center SSD is in my Laptop and it made a huge difference over HDD but is speedy as the other SSD's as it is Hindered by a P4 based system. What I do know is, they are all snappy and I am happy that they all perform as I need them to.

Yes, the chipset is definitely important.

Take the 40GB Intel X-25V that is now in my desktop, for instance. Prior to getting my X-25M, I had the X-25V installed in my desktop (specs in sig) and it was blazing fast. However, once I moved it over to my Thinkpad (with a 2.4 GHz Penryn Core 2 Duo and Intel 965 chipset), it didn't seem as fast anymore. It was still much faster than a spindle hard drive, but compared to the desktop it was noticeably a bit slower.

 

[Drsignguy]

Yes, the chipset is definitely important.

Take the 40GB Intel X-25V that is now in my desktop, for instance. Prior to getting my X-25M, I had the X-25V installed in my desktop (specs in sig) and it was blazing fast. However, once I moved it over to my Thinkpad (with a 2.4 GHz Penryn Core 2 Duo and Intel 965 chipset), it didn't seem as fast anymore. It was still much faster than a spindle hard drive, but compared to the desktop it was noticeably a bit slower.

I pretty much figured it when I installed the Agility 2 on a P67 board compared to the Vertex 2 on my P45. The Agility 2's benchmarks were a bit faster. I did ask this question on an earlier thread and it was looked up. Can't remember the thread tho.

 

[Fun Guy]

So, would it make sense, then, to get the Highpoint SATA III PCI-e 1x card (in my original post) if/when I get a SATA III SSD?

 

[996GT2]

So, would it make sense, then, to get the Highpoint SATA III PCI-e 1x card (in my original post) if/when I get a SATA III SSD?

It really depends...I'm not sure how the controller in that card performs. From what I've heard, the Intel SATA III controllers in the new H67/P67 chipsets perform better than 3rd party solutions, but I'm not sure by how much.

But, honestly there is not really a noticeable difference between a SATA II or III SSD in everyday use, except with really heavy workloads that most people will never subject their computers to.

EDIT: Apparently many of the third-party SATA III controllers perform pretty horribly. If you want to get the most out of a SATA III SSD, I suggest upgrading your motherboard. But, my advice is to just get a good SATA II SSD like the Intel X-25M or Intel 320 and call it a day. Save some money, eliminate the hassle of getting/installing another controller card, and I highly doubt you would actually notice a performance difference compared to a Vertex 3 or C300.

See this post for one example (notice how bad the write speeds are)
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?p=20907251&sid=1bc03fe73e2d750d97cc3f69caa918f3#p20907251

 

[Fun Guy]

Apparently many of the third-party SATA III controllers perform pretty horribly. If you want to get the most out of a SATA III SSD, I suggest upgrading your motherboard. But, my advice is to just get a good SATA II SSD like the Intel X-25M or Intel 320 and call it a day. Save some money, eliminate the hassle of getting/installing another controller card, and I highly doubt you would actually notice a performance difference compared to a Vertex 3 or C300.

I like this idea and probably will go this way. I'll save the SATA III SSD for my new power machine, which I will be building later this year. Thanks!!

 

[Fun Guy]

So would it be okay to run this SSD on a MB with an SATA II controller?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148357